Organic nomenclature in Chinese
The Chinese Chemical Society lays out a set of rules based on those given by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry for the purpose of systematic organic nomenclature in Chinese. The chemical names derived from these rules are meant to correspond with the English IUPAC name in a manner that is close to one-to-one, while being adapted to and taking advantage of the logographic nature of the Chinese written language. A standard set of characters invented during the 20th century, along with characters for the chemical elements and characters corresponding to standard chemical prefixes and suffixes, are used for this purpose.
Derivation of Chinese characters
The majority of the Chinese characters used for this purpose are phonosemantic compounds, with part of the character giving a general semantic category and the other part providing a pronunciation, usually based on the international pronunciation. There are four common radicals for these characters:- 火 e.g.: 烷, common for hydrocarbons
- 酉 e.g.: 酮, common for oxygenated functionalities
- 艸 e.g. 苯, common for aromatic compounds and terpenes
- 肉 e.g. 腙, common for nitrogen-containing functionalities
Table
Below is a table, in pinyin order, of the Chinese names of major organic compounds, radicals, and functional groups. Characters given are in traditional Chinese, followed by simplified Chinese where possible. Since the characters are modern creations, the traditional Chinese characters are analogous. The Mandarin pronunciation of each character, as said in Mainland China, is in pronunciation column. Any Taiwanese pronunciations that differ from the Mainland Chinese pronunciations are put in the notes. Other usages of characters are etymologically unrelated to the character's meaning as names for organic compounds, radicals, and functional groups unless otherwise stated. This list is not exhaustive, although many of the other characters used for this purpose can only be found in specialist dictionaries.| Character | Phonetic | Pronunciation | Origin/Notes |
| 胺 amine | 安 ān 'peace' | àn | From ammonia, 氨 ān, itself based on the European pronunciation. Pronounced as ān in Taiwan. This character is also pronounced è to mean 'to putrefy '. |
| 薁 azulene | 奥 ào 'mysterious' | ào | European pronunciation. This character is also pronounced yù, meaning 'wild grapes'. |
| 苯 benzene or phenyl | 本 běn 'this','root' | běn | European pronunciation. This character is also used to mean 'the appearance of grass growing'. |
| 吡啶 pyridine | 比 bǐ 'compare' and 定 dìng 'stability' | bǐdìng | Transliteration. 吡 is also used to mean 'slander' or 'compare'; when it is pronounced bì, it is bird onomatopoeia. |
| 吡咯 pyrrole | 比 bǐ 'compare' and 各 gè 'each' | bǐluò | Transliteration. See note for 吡啶 for other usages for 吡. 咯 is also pronounced gē or gé, meaning 'cackle', 'cluck', 'this', or 'pickled mustard'; it is also pronounced kǎ, meaning 'to cough up'; it is also pronounced lo, used as an end particle. |
| 吡喃 pyran | 比 bǐ 'compare' and 南 nán 'south' | bǐnán | Transliteration. In general, 喃 is used to transliterate '-ran'. |
| 吡喃鎓 pyrylium | 比 bǐ 'compare', 南 nán 'south', and 翁 wēng 'old man' | bǐnánwēng | Combination of transliteration for 'pyran' and suffix for 'onium'. |
| 苄 benzyl | 卞 biàn 'hurried' | biàn | European pronunciation |
| 卟吩 porphin | 卜 bǔ 'foretell' and 分 fēn 'divide' | bǔfēn | Transliteration. Formerly known as 㗊 léi, which depicts the porphin ring system pictographically. 卟 is also pronounced jī, meaning 'divination' or 'to consider'. 吩 is also used to mean 'to instruct, command'. |
| 醇 alcohol | 享 xiǎng 'enjoy' | chún | Not newly coined, original meaning 'rich wine' |
| 噠嗪/哒嗪 pyridazine | 達/达 dá 'arrive at' and 秦 qín 'Qin Dynasty' | dāqín | Transliteration. |
| 噁唑/?唑 oxazole | 惡/恶 è 'evil' and 坐 zuò 'sit' | èzuò | Transliteration. |
| 苊 acenaphthene | 厄 è 'hardship' | è | European pronunciation |
| 蒽 anthracene | 恩 ēn 'favor' | ēn | European pronunciation. 蒽 is also used as a name of a grass. |
| 菲 phenanthrene | 非 fēi 'not' | fēi | European pronunciation. 菲 is also used to mean 'fragrant'. This character is also read as fěi to mean 'poor'. |
| 酚 phenol | 分 fēn 'divide' | fēn | European pronunciation |
| 碸/砜 sulfone | 風/风 fēng 'the wind' | fēng | European pronunciation |
| 呋喃 furan | 夫 fū 'husband' and 南 nán 'south' | fūnán | Transliteration. 呋 is also a variant of 趺. 喃 is also used to mean 'chattering' or 'to mumble' |
| 呋咱 furazan | 夫 fū 'husband' and 自 zì 'self' | fūzán | Transliteration. 咱 is also used to mean 'we'. |
| 酐 anhydride | 干 gān 'dry' | gān | From 干 gān 'dry'. This character is also used to mean 'bitter wine'. |
| 苷 glycoside | 甘 gān 'sweet' | gān | From 甘 gān 'sweet'. Formerly known as 甙 dài, composed of 弋 from 代 dài 'substitute' and 甘 gān 'sweet'. 苷 is also used to mean 'licorice'. |
| 胍 guanidine | 瓜 guā 'melon' | guā | European pronunciation. This character is also pronounced as gū to mean 'large abdomen' or 'stoutness'. |
| 胲 hydroxylamine | 亥 hài '9-11 pm' | hǎi | European pronunciation. This character is also pronounced as gāi to mean 'the flesh where hair grows on the big toe' or 'prepare'; it is also pronounced gǎi to mean 'cheek'. |
| 磺 sulfonyl | 黃/黄 huáng 'yellow' | huáng | From 硫磺 liúhuáng 'sulfur'; e.g., 磺胺 huáng'àn is sulfonamide |
| 腈 nitrile | 青 qīng 'blue', 'green' | jīng | From cyanogen, 氰 qíng, itself derived from 青 qīng, blue/green/cyan, cf. Prussian blue. It is also used to mean 'pure meat'. |
| 肼 hydrazine | 井 jǐng 'a well' | jǐng | European pronunciation |
| 胩 isonitrile | 卡 kǎ 'stop','check' | kǎ | From older nomenclature carbylamine |
| 蒈 carane | 皆 jiē 'all' | kǎi | European pronunciation |
| 莰 camphane | 坎 kǎn 'threshold' | kǎn | European pronunciation |
| 喹啉 quinoline | 奎 kuí 'stride' and 林 lín 'forest' | kuílín | Transliteration. 啉 is also pronounced as lán to mean 'greed', 'drink a round of wine', 'finish drinking' or 'piercing noise'; it is also pronounced as lìn or làn to mean 'stupid'. |
| 醌 quinone | 昆 kūn 'elder brother' | kūn | European pronunciation |
| 膦 phosphine | 粦 lín | lìn | From 磷 lín 'phosphorus', itself from 粦 lín 'will-o'-the-wisp'. Pronounced as lín in Taiwan. 膦 is also pronounced as liǎn to mean 'lack of strength'. |
| 醚 ether | 迷 mí 'bewilder' | mí | From 迷 mí 'confusion', from anesthetic properties of diethyl ether. This character is also used to mean 'drunk'. |
| 熳 mancude | 曼 màn 'graceful' | màn | European pronunciation. The term mancude derives from maximum number of noncumulative double bonds. For example, a 7-membered mancude ring system has three double bonds in it. |
| 脒 amidine | 米 mǐ 'rice' | mǐ | European pronunciation |
| 咪唑 imidazole | 米 mǐ 'rice' and 坐 zuò 'sit' | mǐzuò | Transliteration. 咪 is also pronounced as mī, used as onomatopoeia for cats or used to describe the appearance of a smile. |
| 嘧啶 pyrimidine | 密 mì 'dense' and 定 dìng 'stability' | mìdìng | Transliteration |
| 萘 naphthalene | 奈 nài 'persevere' | nài | European pronunciation |
| 脲 urea | 尿 niào 'urine' | niào | From 尿 niào 'urine' |
| 薴/苧 limonene | 寧/宁 níng 'peaceful' | níng | From 檸檬/柠檬 níngméng 'lemon'. 薴 is also used to mean 'messy'. |
| 哌啶 piperidine | ? pài and 定 dìng 'stability' | pàidìng | Transliteration |
| 哌嗪 piperazine | ? pài and 秦 qín 'Qin Dynasty' | pàiqín | Transliteration |
| 蒎 pinene | 派 pài 'assign' | pài | European pronunciation |
| 苉 picene | 匹 pǐ 'equal' | pǐ | European pronunciation |
| 嘌呤 purine | 票 piào 'ticket' and 令 lìng 'make' | piàolìng | Transliteration. Pronounced as piāolíng in Taiwan. 嘌 is also pronounced as piāo to mean 'passing swiftly' or 'speak'. 呤 is also pronounced as líng to mean 'speak with a soft voice'. |
| 羥/羟 hydroxyl | 羊 yáng 'sheep' and 巠/? jīng | qiǎng | From fusion of the sounds of 氧 yǎng 'oxygen' and 氫/氢 qīng 'hydrogen'. This character is also pronounced qiān or kēng to mean 'a type of sheep'. |
| 巰/巯 sulfhydryl | 巠/? jīng and 硫 liú 'sulfur' | qiú | From fusion of the sounds of 氫/氢 qīng 'hydrogen' and 硫 liú 'sulfur' |
| 醛 aldehyde | 荃 quán | quán | From 荃 quán, a type of fragrant grass, referring to the fragrance of many aldehydes. 醛 is also pronounced as chuò to mean 'change in the flavour of wine' or 'pickled vegetables'. |
| 炔 alkyne | 夬 guǎi | quē | From 缺 quē 'deficient', referring to its unsaturation, cf. names for alkanes and alkenes. Pronounced as jué in Taiwan. This character is also pronounced as guì, which is a surname or means 'the appearance of smoke'. |
| 脎 osazone | 杀 shā 'kill' | sà | European pronunciation |
| 噻唑 thiazole | 塞 sāi 'to stop up' and 坐 zuò 'sit' | sāizuò | European pronunciation |
| 胂 arsine | 申 shēn 'explain' | shèn | From 砷 shēn 'arsenic'. Pronounced as shēn in Taiwan. This character is also pronounced as shēn to mean 'the flesh of the back'. |
| 酸 acid | 夋, qūn | suān | Not newly coined, also means 'sour' |
| 羧 carboxyl | n.a. | suō | Character construction is based on combination of 氧 yǎng 'oxygen' and 酸 suān 'acid', pronunciation from European pronunciation. This character is also pronounced as zuī to mean 'woollen knitwear'. |
| 肽 peptide | 太 tài 'excessively' | tài | European pronunciation |
| 酞 phthalein | 太 tài 'excessively' | tài | European pronunciation |
| 羰 carbonyl | 羊 yáng 'sheep' and 炭 tàn 'charcoal' | tāng | From fusion of the sounds of 氧 yǎng 'oxygen' and 碳 tàn 'carbon'. Pronounced as tàn in Taiwan. |
| 萜 terpene | 帖 tiè 'obedient' | tiē | European pronunciation |
| 烴/烃 hydrocarbon | 巠/? jīng | tīng | From fusion of the sounds of 碳 tàn 'carbon' and 氫/氢 qīng 'hydrogen'. The character is also read jǐng to mean 'warm', 'burnt smell' or 'the appearance of burning'. |
| 酮 ketone | 同 tóng 'same' | tóng | European pronunciation. The character is also pronounced dòng to mean 'bad wine'. Warning: Verbally, 酮 and 铜 are both pronounced tóng and are indistinguishable. In modern times, new chemical terminology is chosen to avoid conflicts like this. |
| 烷 alkane | 完 wán 'complete' | wán | From 完 wán 'complete', referring to its saturation, cf. names for alkenes and alkynes. The character is also used to mean 'fire'. |
| 鎓/? onium | 翁 wēng 'old man' | wēng | European pronunciation. Used in cases when a specific 'onium' character is unavailable or uncommon, e.g., 氧鎓/氧? yǎngwēng for 'oxonium'. The character is also used to mean 'spade'. |
| 肟 oxime | 亏 yú 'in, on, at' | wò | European pronunciation. Formerly known as 胜 shēng, which is also an old variant of 腥 xīng 'rank, strong-smelling', as well as the simplified character for 勝 shèng/shēng 'victory' or 'excel'. Note that 亏 is also the unrelated simplified character for 虧 kuī 'deficit', but in this context, it is the archaic variant character for 于 yú 'in, on, at'. |
| 芴 fluorene | 勿 wù 'do not' | wù | European pronunciation. This character is also a name for an edible wild plant; it can also be pronounced hū to mean 'dimly' or 'suddenly'. |
| 烯 alkene | 希 xī 'infrequent' | xī | From 希 xī 'sparse', referring to its unsaturation, cf. names for alkanes and alkynes. It can also mean 'the colour of fire'. |
| 酰 acyl | 先 xiān 'in front' | xiān | From 先 xiān 'earlier ', referring to its derivation from acids. Formerly known as 醯 xī, which also means 'acid, vinegar'. |
| ? oxonium | 羊 yáng 'goat; sheep' | yáng | From oxygen, 氧 yǎng |
| 吲哚 indole | 引 yǐn 'attract' and 朵 duǒ | yǐnduǒ | Transliteration |
| 茚 indene | 印 yìn 'impression' | yìn | European pronunciation. This character is also a name of a grass. |
| 甾 steroid | 甾 zāi 'steroid' | zāi | Pictographic in origin, referring to the three side-chains and four rings found in all steroids. The character is a variant of 災/灾 zāi 'calamity'; it is also pronounced zī to mean 'an ancient pottery used for containing wine'. |
| 酯 ester | 旨 zhǐ 'purpose' | zhǐ | From 脂 zhī 'lipid', referring to the ester linkages in glycerides. Formerly known as ? yán. |
| 䓬 tropylium | 卓 zhuó 'eminent' | zhuó | European pronunciation |
| 腙 hydrazone | 宗 zōng 'faction' | zōng | European pronunciation |
Other aspects and examples
In the CCS system, carbon chain lengths are denoted by celestial stems, characters used since the Shang Dynasty for naming days. For example, hexane is 己烷 jǐwán, since 己 jǐ is the sixth celestial stem. Longer carbon chains are specified by number followed by '碳' tàn 'carbon'. For example, 1-hexadecene is 1-十六碳烯, where the hyphen is read as 位.For a more complex example, consider 3-buten-1-ol. Its Chinese name is 3-丁烯-1-醇.
The descriptors for degree of substitution, primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary, are translated as 伯, 仲, 叔, 季, which refer to the first, second, third, and fourth male siblings in a family. For instance, tert-butyllithium is translated as 叔丁基锂. Other commonly used isomeric descriptors normal-, iso-, and neo- are translated as 正, 异, and 新, respectively.
The numerical prefix bis- is translated as 双, while larger multiplicities are simply given by the Chinese word for the number. For example, tetrakispalladium is rendered 四钯, in which 三苯基膦 is triphenylphosphine and 钯 is palladium. The prefix bi- is translated as 联, as in 联苯 for biphenyl.
The stereochemical descriptors cis- and trans- are translated as 顺 and 反. The relational prefixes ortho-, meta-, and para- are translated as 邻, 间, and 对, respectively.
The structural modification descriptors cyclo-, nor- and homo- are translated as 环, 降, and 高. For example, norbornene is translated as 降冰片烯, in which the trivial name for bornyl is used. When substitutive nomenclature is used for naming heterocycles, the suffix 杂 is used in the same way as '-a' in English. As an example, DABCO is named 1,4-二氮杂二环［2.2.2］辛烷.
The common unsaturated groups allyl and propargyl are translated as 烯丙 , 'alkene-prop- and 炔丙 , 'alkyne-prop-. Thus, using 高 for homo- and 烯丙 for allyl, 3-buten-1-ol is also called 高烯丙醇 in Chinese via semisystematic nomenclature.
The :zh:IUPAC有机物命名法|Chinese Wikipedia page may be consulted for further details.